Local Nurse Wins Caregiver of the Year Award

Posted by sam0000089, Community Contributor

Posted by sam0000089, Community Contributor

Posted by sam0000089, Community Contributor

Dawn Shephard has been named a Caregiver of the Year by Maxim Healthcare Services, an established provider of home healthcare, medical staffing, and wellness services. The licensed practical nurse (LPN) and resident of Hampton, Virginia, is being recognized for providing experienced, quality, home healthcare service to a 7-year-old cancer survivor.

Dawn's patient, EJ, came home in March after spending a year in the hospital. Although he'd been sent home, his prognosis was not good-he struggled with food aversion, had been diagnosed with glaucoma, and his liver was in such poor condition that he was on a waiting list for a transplant.But EJ had youth-and Dawn-on his side. Dawn says she simply never doubted the little boy's ability to get better."He laid on the couch, yellow, with no gumption," she recalled. "He didn't want to eat, didn't want to get up. I said, 'We're going to get up, we're going to get moving.' It took a while before his legs could support his weight, but now he's doing wonderfully."In fact, he's doing so well that he's been taken off the waiting list for a new liver because his own liver has recovered so well. According to Dawn, doctors called his recovery a "miracle.""Now we shoot zombies outside," she adds with a laugh. "I don't believe in zombies, but I'll play! When we're out on the playground, I'm just always encouraging him to try to do more."A panel of judges selected Dawn and four other regional winners as top caregivers. Each will attend a special award ceremony hosted by Maxim Healthcare Services in Baltimore, Maryland, on January 27. During the award ceremony, a special tribute video highlighting Dawn's commitment to caregiving will be premiered.

Now in its fifth year, the Caregiver of the Year Award program celebrates healthcare professionals who deliver quality, patient-centered care and service to some of the nation's most medically fragile and chronically ill patients.